Sam Pitroda says not aware of assault on India Today reporter by Congress team in Dallas

After an India Today journalist alleged that he was assaulted by Rahul Gandhi’s team in the US, Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda said he doesn’t approve of “anybody being mishandled” and assured that he would look into the matter.
Speaking exclusively to India Today TV’s consulting editor Rajdeep Sardesai, Pitroda said, “I will look into it. I don’t approve of anybody being mishandled. I do not approve of, you know, not giving respect to journalists. I do not approve of these things.”
Rohit Sharma, the India Today correspondent, said he was assaulted by Congress workers in Dallas when he asked Pitroda if Rahul Gandhi would raise the issue of Hindus being attacked in Bangladesh during his meeting with US lawmakers.
The reporter said his mobile phone was snatched by a member of Gandhi’s advance team, and he was asked to delete the interview. The incident happened just before Gandhi landed in the US on his first visit to the country after becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
Underscoring that he does not appreciate this kind of treatment, Pitroda said he stood for “free press” and always treated journalists with respect and dignity.
“I have no idea who is in the advanced team. I don’t know who handled it. So let’s not just get into it and leave it at a point that I will look into it,” Pitroda said.
“I am for free press. You know me. I am for respect and dignity. All I can tell you is I will find out (what happened),” the Indian Overseas Congress chief further said.
Recalling his meeting with the India Today reporter, Pitroda said he had a decent conversation with Rohit Sharma that day. “I wish Rohit Sharma had spoken to me before going public. He decided to go public without talking to me,” he said.
Incidentally, Rahul Gandhi spoke about how the freedom of journalists had shrunk under the NDA government during an interaction with the American press.
He also denied that Rahul Gandhi had raised the issue of Bangladeshi Hindus being attacked in their home country during his meeting with a delegation of prominent US lawmakers, including Ilhan Omar, whose critical views on India in the past, drew a massive controversy in India.
Sam Pitroda said Rahul Gandhi had “fruitful discussions” about the cause of Blacks in America, India-US relations, democracy, freedom, economic issues, the Constitution, unemployment, technology and agricultural productivity.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Sikhs, Sam Pitroda said, “That conversation was not about the Sikhs, kada (a steel bracelet worn by Sikhs) or gurdwara. It is on what the fight is about. The Indian media has the tendency to take things out of context.”
He said it was about “expressing your own views”.
“There is nothing that is local. Everything is global. Everything that is global is local. We live in an era where distance is dead and time is instant. Information has no borders. So, this (row) doesn’t make sense. If you think it is criticising, then it’s too bad,” he also added.
Rahul Gandhi whipped up a political storm with his remarks on the state of religious freedom in India, citing the example of Sikhs, at an event in Virginia.
Speaking at an event on Monday, “The fight (in India) is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a turban…whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada or go to the gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about, and it’s not just for Sikhs, but for all religions.”